How To Make Charming Heart Gift Tags With Upcycled Sweater Scraps

DIY VALENTINE'S heart gift tags

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and in this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make these charming heart gift tags using upcycled sweater scraps. I hope you’ve been saving these little fabric gems that you have leftover from your other upcycled sweater project.

 

DIY VALENTINE'S DAY heart gift tags paper bag

It goes to show you that even the smallest pieces of felted wool sweaters can be made into some pretty cute things! Add a string of jute or ribbon and you have a tag that is unique and something that you don’t see every day.

I’m going to show you how to easily cut out a small heart freehand, a few ways you can apply it to a card, and show you how to sew several hearts together to make a HEART GARLAND.

supplies green heart heart gift tags

Heart Gift Tags Items & Materials Needed

  • Paper scissors/paper cutter
  • Fabric scissors
  • Felted sweater scraps/felt pieces
  • Card stock paper
  • Glue stick
  • Paper punch
  • Lightweight jute
  • Sewing machine (optional) for heart garland
cutting out heart gift tags

Instructions for Cutting out Heart Gift Tags

If you want, you can create a small heart pattern with paper. However, I find just eyeballing and cutting is much easier due to the small size of the hearts.

Take a piece of sweater fabric and fold it in half. You’ll only be cutting out the shape of a half heart. Start at the bottom point of the heart. You can make these as wide and as tall as you want. You may want to practice on a folded piece of paper to get the hang of it. It really is quite easy.

Heart Gift Tags Paper Prep

Decide how big you want the tag or card to be and cut out a piece of cardstock to that size. You can make the tag be a folded card or a single-layer tag.

heart gift tags glue

Heart Application

There are a few ways to apply the hearts to the paper. The first one is to just glue it on using a simple glue stick or craft glue.

heart gift tags red heartAnother way is to SEW IT ON. Yep, you can use your sewing machine to sew a simple line down the center of the heart. This gives the card a unique look and allows the sides of the heart to flop a bit, which I find to be really cute and different. TIP: to avoid thread nesting on the underside of the fabric, hold your thread for the first couple of stitches and then let go.

If you want to add a ribbon or tie to the heart gift tags, simply use a paper punch.

Fold the ribbon in half and insert the folded end into the hole. Stick the cut ends into the loop and pull to tighten. Tie the heart gift tag to your gift bag. SO CUTE!

heart gift tags heart garland

How to Make a Heart Garland

Another thing you can do is make a vertical heart garland by sewing several hearts together. You can do this by hand sewing, but using a sewing machine makes it a snap.

heart gift tags threadsStart by pulling out about 5 inches of thread from your machine.

heart gift tags sewing machineTake a fabric heart and start sewing at the upper notch of the heart down to the point of the heart. DO NOT CUT THE THREADS!

heart gift tags sewingTurn the handwheel of your sewing machine toward you to bring the needle in the uppermost position. Lift up the presser foot and pull the sewn heart back until you have the distance between hearts that you want.

heart gift tags garlandSew another heart in the same manner and continue with this process until you have a heart garland the length you desire.

heart gift tags doorknob

These heart garlands are adorable hanging from a doorknob or on the wall.

There you have it; another fun way to use up those small pieces of felted sweaters. These heart gift tags are not only for Valentine’s Day but make cute additions to baby gift wrappings and other gifts.

Be sure to check out my other Valentine crafts and gifts.

DIY Valentine Heart Branches / Love Grows on Trees / Easy Craft Tutorial

DIY Valentine Paint Chip Bookmark / Kid Friendly Craft

Paper Heart Garlands: Made From Recycled Magazines

Heart Lollipops: Made with Upcycled Sweaters & Felt

 

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Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

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How to Make Parchment Paper Treat Bags: Sewing Method

When it comes to giving treats, these little parchment paper treat bags are a fun, unique way to package goodies. They are simple to make and require items I’m sure you already have in your kitchen and craft box.

Parchment Paper Treat Bags Items Needed

  • Parchment paper (can be purchased on rolls or sheets)
  • paper scissors
  • rotary cutter & mat (optional)
  • stapler
  • sewing machine (could be stitched by hand)
  • ruler
  • ribbon, note cards, jute (optional for embellishments)

You may be wondering why I don’t have any glue listed on my list. I have tried gluing parchment paper and it JUST DOESN’T WORK!  After it dries, it comes apart. So I have come to the sewing method and it works like a charm. You know me, I like sewing paper!

You can also just use already assembled bags. I like these brown ones.

Watch the video tutorial below

Play Video

Instructions

1-  Decide how big you want your bags to be.

Suggested sizes: Large, Medium, Small

LARGE FINISHED SIZE: 7 X 6 INCHES

CUT PAPER: 12 1/2 X 8 1/2 INCHES

MEDIUM FINISHED SIZE: 5 1/2 X 5 INCHES

CUT PAPER: 10 1/2 X 7 INCHES

SMALL FINISHED SIZE: 6 X 4 INCHES

CUT PAPER: 8 X 6 1/2 INCHES

2-  Cut parchment paper to size.

I like using a rotary cutter because of the marked grid lines on the mat. However, you can use a pair of scissors and ruler.

3-  Line up short ends of paper (without creasing) and sew down the edge.

USE WHITE THREAD! The photo shows black only to emphasize the seam contrast.

4-  Open up the bag and eyeball the seam in the middle. 

Use your fingers to crease the outer edges of the bag. Fold seam and crease as well.

5-  Fold up bottom edge 1/2-3/4 inches and crease.

6-  Take the scissors and cut the outer corner of the folded paper.

Start at the fold crease. Do this for both sides. ( This is just to reduce bulk but not necessary). You can skip this step if you want.

7-  Cut away just the inner paper on fold line.

8-  Sew the bottom flap using the sewing machine. 

Get creative and use a fancy stitch if you want. There are a lot of options. Change thread colors to make the stitching pop.

9-  Now repeat steps 5-7 for the top flap.

10-Fill your bags with all kinds of treats.

 

11-Once the bag is filled, sew the flap closed.

12-Embellish with a ribbon, card, tag or whatever your creative bones can come up with.

Such a fun way to give treats!

These are great for party favors, children Valentine gifts, or an addition to any gift.

You may be interested in another Valentine craft: Paper Heart Garlands

Have fun crafting my friends!

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